Ocean Beach by Wendy Wax

Author:Wendy Wax [Wax, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9781101580998
Google: sefErE5lMUwC
Amazon: B0072NWK6A
Goodreads: 16441359
Publisher: Jove
Published: 2012-06-26T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Nicole was no longer sure what Parker Amherst IV actually wanted or why he had bothered to come to the party. He certainly didn’t seem to be enjoying himself, and despite joining a tour she’d given to several potential sponsors, he’d shown little interest in The Millicent and barely glanced at anything but her.

Her attempts to draw him into conversation with Deirdre and the others had garnered a smile that looked more like a grimace. His eyes remained frosty. Even when talking to someone taller than himself, not that he was doing a whole lot of that, he managed to make it appear as if he were looking down his nose at them. She knew from his acquaintance with Bitsy Baynard that he must be used to moving in fairly exalted circles, yet a less socially adept individual would’ve been hard to find.

Not even Max, at his warmest, smiling best, elicited more than a stiff smile and a grudging nod.

“So what does he want from you?” Giraldi asked when he returned from the bar with drinks in hand and found her watching a nearby group that Deirdre had drawn Amherst into. Despite their less-than-simpatico introduction, Deirdre too seemed unwilling to give up on the financial potential of Amherst’s Roman numeral.

“I mean, the guy is downright squirrelly,” Giraldi said as he contemplated Amherst through the same eyes that had once weighed Nicole’s guilt and innocence.

“Well…” Nikki hedged, wishing she hadn’t noticed the frayed collar of Amherst’s tailor-made suit jacket and the lack of shine on his thousand-dollar Edward Greens. “It’s been my experience that people from privileged backgrounds often aren’t required to develop social skills in the same way the rest of us do. Kind of like how really beautiful women can make it through life without a personality or a sense of humor.”

Lord knew she’d had to teach herself everything from basic etiquette to how to dress and make conversation. When your mother worked two jobs to keep even a leaky roof over your head, you appreciated everything she did for you, but you didn’t expect her to teach you how to move in the first tiers of society. Both she and Malcolm had turned to magazines and movies as well as the important newspapers’ society columns to create their personas—and their fictional backgrounds.

She looked up at the nearby television screen and saw the black-and-white footage of Max and Millie, their backs to each other as each played to the audience. She couldn’t hear their audio over the hum of conversation, but you didn’t need it to see the completeness of the couple’s connection. Nicole had never been that connected to anyone except Malcolm, and that bond had turned out to be excruciatingly one-sided.

Giraldi gave her one of his steely-eyed looks to which she wasn’t sure how to respond. Parker Amherst was not the sort of client she would normally have pursued, or even accepted. But there was nothing normal about her current circumstances and she did not want to discuss her desperation with Giraldi.

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